Bolin's Downfall
by BaSingTei
Summary: Anon prompt from tumblr : Okay so for the fic request: I recently read a hazel grace and agustus waters / bopal crossover and it gave me to many feels. So I was wondering if you could do a fic where canon bolin is diognosed with cancer, leukemia, and mako is there with him in the doctors office? I understand that this is a serious topic, but I'd really appreciate it. I'd love to se


It was seemingly a normal day. Mako had the day off and was sparring early in the afternoon with his brother in the old arena gymnasium they used to live above. Mako punched a fire ball right and Bolin dodged, sending three flying discs his way. Mako spun around and avoided them, predicting Bolin's every move. He came close and threw a punch towards his gut and instead of Bolin moving out of the way, Mako made contact and hard. Bolin doubled over and fell to the ground.

"Oh man. Bro, you okay?"

Bolin was quiet, trying to grasp his breath.

"Bolin?" He asked and knelt down.

Bolin made a small chuckle.

"Good one Mako. Whooo! Yeah I'm okay. I'm just tired I guess."

"We've barely been at it for ten minutes."

"Yeah I know. Weird huh?" He said and tried to breath normally. Mako took his hand and helped him stand. Bolin was still out of breath and Mako patted his back.

"I think we're done for today."

Normally Bolin would reject the very notion that he was weak, but he was so tired and felt off. He easily agreed with a nod and rubbed his abdomen.

"I'll take you out to lunch. Narook's, on me." Mako offered.

Bolin smiled.

"You hate watertribe food."

"There are some watertribe things I like." He smirked and patted his back again.

X

"Why are you taking so long to decide? You come here every chance you get. You know what you like. Just order something already." Mako said, a little frustrated at his brother. Mako popped a dumpling in his mouth and Bolin looked down.

"I guess I'm just not hungry."

"How can you, the human vacuum, not be hungry? You're always hungry!"

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I know right? I having kind of an off day. Maybe I'll just have a bowl of noodles."

"That's better than nothing."

He ordered his food and took his time eating it. By the time it was only halfway gone, it was ice cold. Bolin sighed and put his head back.

"Bo?"

"I'm okay, I'm just… really tired. Are you finished?"

"Yeah I'm good."

"Can we just go home? I need to lay down I think."

"Bo, it's only 5."

He streaked his hand down his face and kept his eyes closed.

"I know but I just don't feel right." He paused and Mako wanted to ask something but Bolin cut him off. "Can you please take me home?" He pleaded and Mako was shocked. He nodded and paid the bill, helping his brother stagger out of the restaurant.

They caught a cab instead of walking and as soon as they got home, Bolin striped down to his undergarments and fell into his bed. Mako tried to think what could make him so tired and came up dry. He shook his head and spent the rest of his evening listening to the soft tunes of the radio while reading the paper.

X

The next morning, Mako was just about to leave.

"Bo?" Mako yelled from the kitchen, gulping down in last bit of coffee before work.

"Bo, I'm leaving!" He said and grabbed his keys. He put on his shoes and waited for a response. Bolin always responded. Mako raised a brow and went into Bolin's room. He was in the exact same position he had fallen asleep last night. Mako leaned down and tried to give him a little shake. His skin was burning up.

"Bolin? Hey, are you okay?"

He mumbled and awoke slowly, very groggy.

"Yeah, just tired. And hot. Oh man it's hot!" He threw the covers off of him and Mako gasped. Where he had made contact with his stomach the previous day was a huge black and purple bruise, much larger than Mako's fist.

"What the hell is that!?"

"Hmm?" Bolin looked down and saw the huge mark on his body.

"Oh, I guess you must have hit me harder than I thought."

"Bolin… there is no way I would ever hit you that hard, even sparring. And why are you so pale? And hot?"

"I dunno." He closed his eyes and let his head hit the pillow. "Maybe I have some sort of bug."

Mako didn't buy that for a second but he didn't know what else to call this. He walked out of his brother's room and made a few phone calls. Several minutes later Mako came back.

"Mako, I thought you had to go to work?"

"I do, but I am going to wait here until Opal gets here. "

"Opal? You called her for something this small?"

"I just want someone to watch over you and make sure you get fluids okay?"

"Okay mom." Bolin whispered and Mako ruffled his hair lightly.

"Hey, you're my brother. I need to take care of you."

"I'm not a kid anymore…" He said softly as sweat was beading on his forehead.

"Doesn't mean I'm off duty."

Before Opal even showed up Bolin drifted back to sleep. When she arrived, Mako explained the situation.

"Mako, I think you're overreacting…" She said cautiously.

"Go look at his stomach and tell me I'm overreacting."

She narrowed her eyes at him and walked passed him into Bolin's room. She lifted the sheet and covered her mouth. She was infuriated and came storming out of his room.

"How could you beat the crap out of your own brother?"

"No, you don't understand! We were just sparring for fun. I hit him no harder than I normally would. We never bruise each other. That thing on him? That's not normal! And it didn't come by excessive force."

"You would know all about excessive force, wouldn't you, Officer?" She narrowed her eyes at him and folded her arms.

"Opal, I didn't do this! I swear! Why would I want to hurt my baby brother? And what about the not eating? The exhaustion? His fever? I couldn't have caused this."

She let reality sink in and her face changed from fury to anxiety. She looked to Bolin, seeing him laying on his bed in his room and nodded.

"You're right. Something else is going on." She sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll watch over him. If he gets worse, I'm calling Korra."

"That's fine, do what you have to. Just make sure he drinks water please. I'll be back later tonight. I'll bring you dinner."

"Okay. Get to work before Aunt Lin puts you on the coals." She smiled and he nodded. There wasn't a need for apology between them. They had known each other for a while and some things were just unspoken between them.

Mako left and Opal sat on Bolin's bed, brushing his hair out of his face and watching over him.

X

Mako came home as the sun was setting and had a large bag of food with him. He set it on the counter with his keys and took off his shoes. Walking into Bolin's room he saw not one but two women on Bolin's bed, hovering over him and whispering.

"Korra…"

She looked up to him and it would be a nice reunion if her being there hadn't meant that Bolin was worse.

"How is he?" He asked.

"Something is seriously wrong. He isn't responding to my healing treatments. And…" She side glanced over to Opal. She wasn't sure if she should tell him.

"And?" Mako asked impatiently.

Korra sighed and looked to him again.

"Something's wrong with his blood."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not normal consistency. It's… thick. It's hard to move."

"Why were you trying to bloodbend Bolin?"

"I was trying to get the blood pumping back into his heart at a normal rate. He is really having trouble breathing… Mako, I can't fix this."

Everything was quiet for a while before it really hit him.

"Then who can?"

"We need to take him to a hematologist. Someone who specializes in blood. Whatever Bolin is going through…" She paused as Opal wiped the sweat from his face with a rag. "It's in his blood. No flu or cold could do this."

All three of them looked down to Bolin's paler than ever features and he had an ashy quality to his face. He was covered from head to toe in sweat and his facial features were contorted into a painful expression.

X

The doctor couldn't see him right away. It would take a few weeks to get in with the doctor. Mako and Opal were completely outraged. Korra tried her best to keep him comfortable but one day she shouted in frustration.

"Korra, it's okay." Bolin said softly.

"No it's not Bolin! It's not okay! I am the Avatar! I learned from the best healer in the world! And all I can do is half your pain, at best!"

"Korra, it's not your fault." He said and gripped her hand softly.

Korra turned to Opal.

"Tell Mako to call for an ambulance. He's going to the emergency room."

"Korra, no. I'll be fine. Just let me sleep a little more…"

"Bolin, you've been saying that for the last week. I can't take seeing you like this anymore and it's destroying Mako and Opal. You're going even if I have to carry you there myself."

His features changed from kind to mildly irritated. But he didn't have the energy to fight with anyone, especially not Korra.

Mako called for the ambulance and in a few minutes the three of them were carrying Bolin down the stairs to get inside and go to the hospital. When he was laying on the bed in the back, Bolin faded out into darkness.

X

The touch of a familiar slender hand in his made him smile. For a split second he thought he was in his bed at home, Opal beside him after a wonderful night together. Then the pain came from his joints. And the shortness of breath. And the feeling of a small tube running along his arm. He opened his eyes and Opal was holding his hand but he was not home. He was in a hospital bed. He looked to his arm and there was an IV in him, marked with a large maroon bruise pooling around the entry, larger than it should have been.

"Bolin?"

"Hey hun." He struggled to smile despite the pain. "How long have I been out?'

"A few days."

His eyes widened in shock and he looked around.

"Where is everyone?"

"Mako still has to make money and Korra just ran to get some food for us. Do you want to share?"

He shook his head.

"I'm not hungry."

"Bolin sweetie," She said and stroked his cheek. "You haven't eaten in almost two weeks. You need to eat to heal. You're bruises aren't going away."

"I only have two. They'll go away."

"Bo, you're covered in them. They are all over your body and legs and now you are starting to get them on your arms every time they take blood from you."

He was silent and frowned. He didn't understand what was going on with him.

"Just eat. Please."

"I'll do what I can." He agreed.

As they finished talking a man came into the room.

"Hello Bolin."

"Um, hi?" He asked, confused.

"I'm Doctor Koo. I've been doing some tests on you and my nurses have been taking care of you alongside your wonderful partner there." He motioned to Opal and she blushed. "I'm glad you're awake." He smiled genuinely and came closer to Bolin.

"Bolin, how are you feeling. Please be honest." He asked.

"To tell the truth I feel like dirt. I am so tired. And I feel like I can't get enough air into my lungs. I'm just so tired…"

Doctor Koo nodded and looked at his IV drip.

"How would you rate your pain overall, zero being no pain, ten being the most unbearable pain you can think of?"

Bolin thought for a while and answered slowly.

"I've had a lot of pain in my life… today feels like an eight. I've never had an eight before…"

"I can give you something for the pain, but it will only make you even more drowsy so I am hesitant to give it to you. I would like you awake for a while. Would you be okay if we withheld the pain medication for a few hours?"

Bolin nodded.

"Thank you. I know that's a hard choice to make."

"Doctor Koo?" Opal asked. He turned to her. "Have the test results come back yet?"

"They should be up within the hour. And then we can all talk about options. Until they come back, I would like you to help him stay awake if you can."

She nodded and he left the room. When the door closed he turned back to her.

"Opal, tell me what's going on."

"We're not really sure…" She said softly and looked to the ground.

"That's not… completely true, is it?"

She shook her head and looked back to his eyes. He was pleading to know something. He looked so confused. She had to tell him something.

"Well, we're not exactly sure what but something is wrong with your blood. Korra said it wasn't the right consistency. And when the doctors took it, it was a weird color. Like a light red with white mixed in. It was…" She didn't want to finish her sentence because Bolin was looking more scared than she had ever seen him. She gripped his hand.

"Either way, we'll know soon."

They had small talk exchanges for a little while before Korra returned with hot boxes of food. Bolin turned to her.

"Hey tough guy." She smiled and he smiled back.

"There's my favorite Avatar." He said softly.

Korra came by his side and left the food at the bedside table.

"He said he would eat." Opal said cheerfully.

"Well, you'll want to share mine because I got the meat."

"Sure thing beefcake." Opal said and laughed.

"Hey, if anyone is the beefcake here, it's me." Bolin said and the girls laughed.

Korra smiled and before he could wonder she answered his question.

"Mako should be here soon."

"Good." He said and looked relieved, if only a bit.

X

Mako arrived, Opal kind enough to share her meal with him. He was still in uniform but he really didn't care. The test results were taking their sweet time getting up to the doctor so they spent the time talking about horrible movers that had been on the screen lately, alluding that nothing has been any good since Bolin left the mover business. As their laughter died off, Doctor Koo knocked on the door. As he was welcomed in he shut the door behind him and stood at the foot of Bolin's bed.

"We got the results back. Your blood is indeed poisoning you. You have what's called Acute Myeloid Leukemia, we call it AML."

"What the heck does that even mean? What language is that?" Bolin asked and the Doctor paused.

"Basically, your white blood cells are outnumbering your red blood cells and platelets and becoming abnormal, outnumbering even the normal white blood cells. The AML white blood cells are interfering with your ability to produce normal red blood cells that carry oxygen through your body. It's very rare and has only been around for about seventy years. This is the cause of your fatigue, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, and your easy bruising and bleeding."

He looked to the monitor that was next to Bolin and smiled.

"Although your glucose levels are up so I'm guessing your friends coerced you into eating."

Bolin nodded.

"So what can we do?" Mako asked.

"At this point, our medical technology does not allow us to have a treatment. Bolin will live with this."

"Oh man… eighty more years of this? I don't know if I can do that." Bolin groaned. Everyone was silent. They knew what was coming next.

"Bolin," Doctor Koo said delicately. "You won't be living with this for eighty years. Or any number of years. I'm sorry but you may only have a few weeks left before this is just too much for your body to handle."

Opal covered her mouth, Korra looked to the floor, and Mako closed his eyes. Of all the things to happen to Bolin, no one had ever seen this coming. Most patients are in immediate denial, some even get angry. Bolin was neither. He spoke with conviction yet acceptance.

"Can I at least go in my own home? I don't have to stay here right?"

Everyone looked up at him.

"I mean… if there is no cure and I've only got a little bit of time left, why spend it here? You can give me the medicine I need right? And I can take it at home and just be where my family and friends are?"

Everyone look to the doctor and he nodded.

"Yes, if that's what you prefer, we can set that up for you."

"It is. I want to be home."

X

Opal giggled as Bolin kissed her cheek and neck, pushing him away.

"Bolin stop! Don't waste your energy!"

"This is no waste!" He said and laughed with a broken voice.

He eventually stopped and he lay on Opal's chest, listening to her heart pump the pure clean blood that she had in her body.

"What do you want to eat today?"

"Surprise me." He said and she smiled. A few weeks had gone by and his body was starting to give out but he surely wasn't giving up. He hated eating but he ate at least once a day. A nurse came twice a day to give him medicine and bathe him in bed.

Opal got up and was in the kitchen for a while. She brought him a rice bowl topped with vegetables, steaming fresh beef, and a sauce to go with.

Bolin faked a gasp.

"Opal, you made meat!"

She held a finger to her lips and winked.

"Don't tell Tenzin."

"Wouldn't dare my dear." He smiled and started to eat. It was hard for him to swallow because his throat was so dry but he ate it all, drinking a whole glass of water afterwards.

As the sun set he held her in his arms.

"Stay with me tonight."

"You sure?"

"Yes. No funny business, I just want to be with you."

"Okay."

She dressed down into her undergarments and got into the bed with him. His arms surrounded her and he kissed her hair.

"I know this whole thing sucks for everyone. I know no one wants it to happen… but just make sure you tell everyone that I love them."

"Tell them yourself tomorrow. This isn't your fault so don't blame yourself. We all love you Bolin, me especially."

"I know. I hope you know I have loved you since the very first moment I met you. And I want you to know that you would have always been my choice. Even if I wasn't yours."

She blushed and turned in his arms to give him a loving kiss. He fell asleep shortly after that.

When morning came he was nothing but a cold shell of the loving earthbender they all knew. But he went on his terms. He chose how to spend his last days. And his last night. And if you were in the same situation, wouldn't you?


End file.
